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Toyota to run just one car in FIA World Endurance Championship

January 17, 2013

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Toyota Motorsport has surprised the professional sports car racing community by entering only one car in this year's FIA World Endurance Championship. The single TS030 Hybrid sports-prototype will be raced throughout the series by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre, who will be joined at Le Mans by Kazuki Nakajima.

Toyota will only field a team of two cars at Le Mans and at Spa-Francorchamps the previous month. A spokesman said: "It's purely a matter of resources. Don't forget that last year was intended as a test and development year, so this year was meant to be our first full season, which probably would have meant one car in the WEC. The target is still to win Le Mans and the championship. We're still just as serious about winning."

The WEC entry will be for the No. 7 car will raced by Alex Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre, who will be joined at Le Mans by a third driver, Kazuki Nakajima.

“The target will be to win Le Mans and the world championship,” the Toyota spokesman said. “We are still serious about winning.”

Toyota will contest the 2013 WEC with a revised version of the TS030 Hybrid that won three races last season.

The updated car will be built around a new monocoque that eradicates the compromises in the 2012 tub, which was designed to allow the car to retrieve energy via either the front or rear axle.